update:
This page will list some of the most commonly used shortcuts.
Please recommend your favorites, so this page serves as a valuable guide to actual usage.
Keyboard shortcuts are for users who prefer NOT to move their hands away from the keyboard to grab and manipulate the mouse.
It is not a "dislike" of the Graphical User Interface. For focused keyboard users, it is quicker to use "hotkeys" while working at the computer.
Hold down the first key of a combination and continue to hold it down while tapping the second key.
Example: Ctrl+C
(the plus symbol is not tapped on the keyboard)
Normally the second key is not case sensitive, even though it's usually shown uppercase. Ctrl+c is the same as Ctrl+C.
I'll try to arrange these keyboard shortcuts into groups which logically fit together. Please suggest adjustments to the scheme.
Many shortcuts work very broadly, consistent across programs, and even across operating systems! Amazing, and useful User Interface agreement. The hotkeys involving the control key seem to be the most broadly consistent across programs and even operating systems.
Ctrl+C - copy a selected word, sentence, paragraph of text, or a selected file or a selected image. It moves to the clipboard for later use.
Ctrl+X - cut a selected word, sentence, etc. which moves to the clipboard to be put elsewhere.
Ctrl+V - paste the most recently copied information in the clipboard into the new location OR to replace selected text in the document.
Ctrl+A - select ALL of the current document. But watch out if you tap the Delete/Del, you'll erase all your work
but check out the next...
Ctrl+Z - undo the most recent action, even the huge delete - VERY powerful safety measure.
Ctrl+F - launch the current program's search dialog so you can find a word or phrase.
Ctrl+R - launch the current program's search and replace dialog. Take care, very powerful tool!
Ctrl+Home - jump to the beginning of the current document.
Ctrl+End - jump to the end of the current document.
Ctrl+N - launch a new document using the current program.
Ctrl+O - launch the dialog for choosing a file to open.
Ctrl+S - launch the dialog for naming a new file OR simply save the current state of a file you've already named.
Ctrl+Shift+S - launch the dialog for "changing" the name of the current file - great for doing simple version control.
Ctrl+W - close the current file, usually without quitting the entire program - typically you get a warning if you have not just saved your file.
Ctrl+Q - quit the current program, closing all its active files - typically you'll be warned if you have any unsaved files open.
Ctrl+P - is very consistent to mean "launch the print process". Of course, you will usually deal with whether to go quickly to the default printer connected to your system or to choose an alternative one (especially in office environments where you might have access to a big departmental copy machine which works as a printer, too.)
The author, Lyn Thorne-Alder, reminded me to mention that a set of these, in sequence, have real value: Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+N, Ctrl-V, for those times when you want to use an old document as the basis for a new version. You'll probably develop these kinds of keyboard-centered habits once you start down the path.
Ctrl+L - in browsers, this puts the focus on the Location or address bar so you can type a site name.
Rest!
Take a pause here! There are significantly more Control+key shortcuts, but it is very possible you will find some will work VERY differently depending on which program is open AND which operating system you use. Which shortcuts you eventually integrate into your daily habits will certainly depend on those things. Don't rush!
This is also a good place to be clear. These shortcuts are NOT ALWAYS CONSISTENT. Within programs, they will sometimes have very different uses. It will often take a close look at the program's documentation or a bit of playful exploration to determine useful hotkey combinations.
If you're from a Macintosh background, you probably know it is the command key to be used instead of the Control key. You may need to adjust muscle memory.
This list is not the absolute answer.
You may also find minor frustrations, especially if you are a fat-fingered typist like me. I routinely click Ctrl+S to save my work and then unintentionally roll my ring finger up the S key to inadvertently tap the W key. The result is, of course, I close the current file right after saving it. Phooey! But I do know I can re-open the saved file.
Sometimes a hotkey is used to turn on an editing effect like bold text and then the same hotkey turns the effect back off.
Ctrl+B signals where to begin typing in bold and then you type the text, tapping Ctrl+B again to stop doing bold. In word processing, if you have text already selected for editing, Ctrl+B will make the selected text all be bold. Tapping the combination again un-bolds. These on/off hotkeys are sometimes described as "toggling" the effect because of their similarity to a simple on/off toggle switch.
Ctrl+I - start and stop or apply italic text style.
Ctrl+U - start and stop or apply underline text style.
These are all common in word processing across operating systems - see spreadsheets, too.
The second letter has generally been chosen to help us remember the desired effect. C for "copy", P for "print", S for "save", as examples. But, sooner or later that convention breaks down. Perhaps you noticed that "paste" is the letter V. It could not be the letter P because that was already assigned to print. I've always been able to think of the V as pointing down as in "drop the text here!"
Ctrl+L - left justify a paragraph of text.
Ctrl+R - right justify a paragraph of text.
Ctrl+E - center a paragraph of text. (This seems to come out of the blue for me.)
Alt key hotkey combinations may not always consistent across operating systems - these are known to work for Ubuntu 20.04.
Alt+F1 - Activities search pops up.
Alt+Tab - switch to a different running program in the taskbar (quick to jump back and forth between current and most recent window OR sequentially through all the open windows.)
Sometimes three keys are involved, holding the first two while tapping the third.
Alt+Shift+Tab - move "backwards through the list of open windows
It can get a little tricky to use these, especially with inconsistent keyboard layouts...probably less commonly used (more advanced?).
Alert:
Because keyboard layouts (especially laptops) are NOT consistent, some Alt key combinations require the Fn (function) key. This is true of my Toshiba laptop. All the F1-F12 function keys need the Fn key to work since on the laptop, each of the main actions of the keys are hardware specific. For hardware functions, the F2 key, for me is for dimming the screen while F3 is for making it brighter.
Do not let complexity chase you off...Remember, use the ones which make sense to you because you do the task all the time making it easy to develop muscle memory.
Do not try to memorize a bunch of shortcuts all at once. If you don't actually use them, it's a waste of your time.
Create a cheat-sheet or find a good list like this one.
The very top row of keys on most keyboards are "function" keys F1 - F12. While these are not always reliably "universal", some are "consistent".
F1 - within many programs, tapping F1 brings up an application-appropriate help dialog.
Editor note:
I do not routinely use the function key shortcuts myself, and from a bit of experimentation, it looks as if the function keys may be very program specific. Anybody have more "general" function key advice?
(planned) Ubuntu Documentation
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To keep this page under control, follow this link to a grid of how the compose key makes it "easy" to add accents to words for foreign languages.
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Consider adding a "Special Keys" page to the Word processing section.
Alert:
One of the powerful things about GNU/Linux is its flexibility. The Settings tool includes the ability for each of us to customize things to our very own preferences. In many cases, people choose to change away from the common standards. They adapt the keyboard shortcuts to suit themselves. This page of the guide does not intend to deal with that choice.
The power of users is great. There were lots of people who reminded me of great shortcuts during the development of this page. Some were members of NatickFOSS, of course, but several people from social media shared their favorite shortcuts. All you have to do is ask. Somebody is ready with the answers!
© 2013- Algot Runeman - Shared using the Creative Commons Attribution license.
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